It's been a while. I'm sorry for the delay. I graduated. And got my first job, life has been moving very fast… anyway, thank you to my readers and especially my reviewers. I am so grateful for your support. Please enjoy!
Chapter 4The shrill sound shook though Kai's body and his eyes shot wide open. What he saw was no less frightening. Max was leaning over him, much too close.
"Calm it, Max. Don't yell like that." He shoved him off the bed. Max landing on the floor made a loud banging sound that startled him further.
He shot up to see if Max was okay, he seemed fine, but he found himself somewhat sidetracked by Ray and none other than himself standing by his bed, looking at him eagerly. A lucid dream. Nothing but a vivid lucid dream. He let himself fall back onto the pillow, closed his eyes and turned away. If it was a lucid dream, that should mean he could control it. But before he could drift off into a better one, he was being rattled relentlessly.
"Kai, some voodoo magic made us all switched bodies, and now I am in Maxie's body, Max is in Ray's, Ray is in yours, and you are in mine."
This was sounding more like a nightmare than a lucid dream. Kai tried his best to wake himself up from it, but whenever he opened his eyes, he still found his own staring back at him.
This couldn't be real. Was this an acid trip? Had he taken drugs and forgotten about it? After what happened last night it wasn't too far-fetched, but he couldn't have because of… or did he? He believed himself to have more self-control than that, but confronted with what he saw, a small lapse in judgement seemed more reasonable than the alternative that "Tyson" was proposing.
"It's nothing to be afraid of. The ancient scrolls of village tell many legends of souls travelling places." The mirror-Kai said.
"Max" tried to comfort him. "I'm sure it must be a shock. I couldn't believe it at first either."
"Tyson" jumped back onto bed, his hand reaching for his face. Kai jerked back. "Hey, why are my bangs parted like that?" Tyson asked.
"You're just used to seeing yourself the way you look in the mirror. But to everyone else this is how you actually look." "Ray" explained as-a-matter-of-factly.
"Woah, really? Man, I look weird."
"Don't worry, it just feels uncanny because you're not used to it. You look normal to the rest of us."
To Kai, they might as well be yelling across the room. He could hardly stand listening to them. Every time one of them spoke it was akin to aircraft taking off next to him. He clutched his hands over his ears.
"Shut up! You're so loud."
Even the sound of his "own" voice rattled him.
"I think it's best if we let him process this for a moment. Could you guys leave me alone with him for a second?" Ray suggested.
Thankfully the others complied, though Kai wasn't sure if being left alone with his clone was even worse. Lucky for him, the realization that he was in Tyson's body hadn't quite dawned on his sleep-drunken self yet.
Ray allowed him enough time to stare. Finally, Kai asked: "So this has happened before you say?"
"Yeah, and I even have an idea as to why."
Kai shrugged. "Entertain me."
"One of us is in need, and I think it's you."
"I can take care of myself."
"Why didn't you tell us you are homeless?"
"I'm not."
"I looked through your stuff. The bundle of cash, the burner phone. You're either homeless or a drug dealer." Ray persisted. His voice was getting louder.
Kai crossed him arms. "I'm not a drug dealer. And it's none of your business why I have that cash."
"If you tell us it might help us reverse our situation."
"Fine, I had a fight with my Grandfather yesterday. I grabbed my savings and took off. But it's only been a night, I haven't yet decided what to do. But I'm not homeless. I could easily rent a place or stay with some friends."
"Who?"
"I have friends aside from you guys. I have a life that doesn't involve you."
"You can always come to us for help. We won't judge you. You could have told us about your disability too."
Ray's intentions were good, but Kai didn't perceive them as such.
"I am NOT disabled." He looked appalled.
"You can't lie to me, I'm in your body. I think you need a hearing aid."
"I can hear just fine. You will get used to it. Now stop interrogating me. None of this explains why we switched. If I was the cause, why are all four of us involved?"
Ray did not have an answer to that.
They assembled inside of the sauna that had become of the dojo. It was boilingly hot, so much so that even the class had decided to move it outside.
"What do we tell people?"
"Does anyone have food allergies or medical conditions. Need regular medication?"
"I took those pills you need. You're welcome." Tyson proudly announced.
"My codeine?"
"Yeah."
"That stuff is potent. And really expensive. I only take it when I feel a migraine coming. And you need to make sure you eat a meal with it and drink plenty of water."
"That explains why I feel like I'm having the shits. Oh yeah, talking about shits..."
Max giggled. "You are always talking about shits."
"If you think a codeine shit is bad, you should see me after I eat dairy." He proclaimed.
"Gross." Kai replied, though he was grateful for the warning.
"Wait, does that mean I can eat cheese now?" Tyson's face lit up. His eyes sparked. "I'm going to have a feast."
"Hey, don't gorge yourself just because you're in my body. It will be me who has to lose the weight." Max protested.
"Let's just agree to not intentionally harm each other's bodies. And keep in shape." Kai summarized.
"That means no smoking for you." Ray reprimanded him.
"Fine. As long as I don't end up with a tramp stamp of a poorly drawn mandala."
When he turned 18 Ray had decided to get a meaningful reminder of his trip to Thailand and immediately regretted it.
"What do we tell people? Will we do what they do in movies and try to hide it?" Max asked.
"Kenny could be a useful ally. He could help us find a solution." Kai suggested.
"Then we should tell Hilary too, otherwise she'll get jealous that we are excluding her." Tyson added.
Nobody wanted another repeat of green-eyed Hilary.
"I think we can tell Grandpa. He'd get worried if I suddenly started acting like sourpuss. I think he'd believe us. He used to be into all that hippie New Age stuff when he was young. Plus, he's old enough that people will just assume he's when he accidently exposes us."
"Mom would have me institutionalized." Max jumped in. "You're going to have to act like me."
"That will be no, problem." Tyson proudly spouted his impression of an American accent. Sorry Momma, I ain't got no time to talk right now, I'm busy polishing my gun and watching Jimmy Kimmel Live, while reciting the constitution. Why don't y'all eat yer sloppy joes 'n mac'n cheese without me." It was spot on. His eyes widened. "Holy shit. I speak fluent English."
"That's uncanny." Kai remarked. "Wait does that mean I know Chinese? Hello I am Max." He tested. "Nope, doesn't look like it. What about you, Ray?"
"Wǒ jiào Ray." He spoke in a thick accent. "I seem to remember it, but my tongue doesn't seem to know where to go."
"It could be that since language is part of our memory, we don't lose our knowledge of it, but enunciation is a skill one's body needs to refine. By that logic, Tyson might sound like an American, but doesn't have the full vocabulary range." Max proposed. He turned to Tyson. "Define enfranchisement." Who would have thought that those pesky SAT words would one day come in handy?
"Eh? I have no clue."
"So the way it looks, whatever we didn't take with us was left in our body." Kai concluded.
"Yeah, like you inherited my sleeping habits." Tyson remarked smugly, hoping that Kai would be more understanding from now on. Kai didn't catch his drift, instead, his face turned white.
"How late is it?"
"9:30 am. I know, it's terrible isn't it?"
"I have to be at work at 10 am. Quickly, Ray, you'll have to cover for me."